Back to EveryPatent.com
| United States Patent |
5,643,013
|
|
Weidler
, et al.
|
July 1, 1997
|
Electrical connector
Abstract
An electrical connector comprises, a housing (2), conductive contacts (3)
in the housing (2) extending toward a mating end (23) on the housing (2),
channels (25) in the housing (2) receiving respective contacts (3), and
core pin openings (34) in the mating end (23) communicating with the
channels (25), wherein the channels are formed with precision in a slender
mating end (23) on the housing (2).
| Inventors:
|
Weidler; Charles Harry (Lancaster, PA);
Knisley, Jr.; Edward Eugene (Middletown, PA)
|
| Assignee:
|
The Whitaker Corporation (Wilmington, DE)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
453128 |
| Filed:
|
May 24, 1995 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
439/660 |
| Intern'l Class: |
H01R 019/00 |
| Field of Search: |
439/733.1,746-749,943,676,79,660
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 3957337 | May., 1976 | Damiano | 439/748.
|
| 4904212 | Feb., 1990 | Durbin et al. | 439/943.
|
| 5006080 | Apr., 1991 | Ichitsubo et al. | 439/634.
|
| 5017156 | May., 1991 | Sugiyama et al. | 439/607.
|
| 5030140 | Jul., 1991 | Sugiyama | 439/746.
|
| 5073130 | Dec., 1991 | Nakamura | 439/607.
|
| 5139446 | Aug., 1992 | Costello et al. | 439/943.
|
| 5266038 | Nov., 1993 | Nakamura | 439/79.
|
| 5270599 | Dec., 1993 | Aoyagi et al. | 439/733.
|
| 5295843 | Mar., 1994 | Davis et al. | 439/108.
|
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 0 292 144 | Nov., 1988 | EP | .
|
Primary Examiner: Paumen; Gary F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ness; Anton P.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrical connector of the type having a housing, conductive
contacts in the housing having forward sections extending along opposed
sides of a divider to contact tips adjacent a mating end of the housing,
and shallow channels along the divider receiving forward sections of
respective said contacts, the shallow channels being defined by slender
core pins during molding, characterized in that:
the mating end includes therethrough core pin openings formed by small core
pins during housing molding, said core pin openings communicating with
ends of the channels, the small core pins enabling engagement thereagainst
by the slender channel-forming core pins for support thereof during
molding; the small core pin openings being smaller in circumference than
the widths of the channels to prevent falling of tips of the contacts into
the openings upon assembly.
2. The connector according to claim 1 wherein pockets are formed at ends of
the channels adjacent the mating end, further characterized in that the
pockets are defined by angled walls to define an undercut trapping tips of
said contacts thereunder upon assembly.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an electrical connector having conductive
electrical contacts in an insulating housing, and more particularly, to a
feature on the housing for maintaining alignment of the contacts along a
thin section of the housing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,156, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,130, an
electrical connector comprises, two rows of electrical contacts on
opposite sides of an insulator. The insulator is a portion of an
insulating housing on which the contacts are assembled. The contacts are
arranged in pairs, with the contacts of each pair opposing each other and
being mounted on opposite sides of the insulator.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,038, the contacts in the connector are
formed with respective curved portions of different lengths. The curved
portions protrude from the housing. The contacts curve toward a circuit
board on which the housing is mounted.
A connector described by the prior patents has a solid insulator that
separates the contacts of each pair. The contacts extend along shallow
channels that are recessed in opposite sides of the insulator. The
insulator is manufactured by a molding operation according to which molten
plastic material is injected into a confined cavity of a molding die to
become formed with the shape of the insulator. The shallow channels are
formed by corresponding core pins that project into the cavity. Because
the channels are shallow, the corresponding core pins are thin. The thin
core pins are deflected out of position by the molten plastic material. In
the completed insulator, the shallow channels that were formed by the
deflected core pins are misaligned from their desired positions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to a feature on an insulator on an electrical
connector that assures shallow channels to be formed without being
misaligned.
According to the invention, shallow channels are recessed in opposite sides
of an insulator that is formed by a molding operation, and a core pin
opening extends along the insulator between the channels. The channels
extend along opposite sides of the core pin opening that was formed by a
core pin during the molding operation. The opening enters a front face of
the insulator from which the core pin was withdrawn from the insulator.
The channels and the electrical contacts along the channels are wider than
the core pin opening, which avoids falling of the contacts into the
opening, thus maintaining the contacts precisely in position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with
reference to the accompanying drawings, according to which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of an electrical connector;
FIG. 2 is a section view taken through FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating a housing of the connector
shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, of a housing of the connector shown in
FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is an end view of the housing shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a section view through the housing as shown in FIG. 4;
FIGS. 7 and 8 are top and plan views of one set of electrical contacts of
the connector of FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 is a partial section view of the contacts of FIGS. 7 and 8; and
FIG. 10 is a section view through one of the contacts taken along lines
10--10 of FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, an electrical connector 1 comprises, an
insulating housing 2, and multiple electrical contacts 3 assembled to the
housing 2.
With reference to FIG. 8, one set of three of the electrical contacts 3 is
shown. The contacts 3 are coplanar with one another, with one of the
contacts 3 being longer than the others. The connector 1 comprises two
sets of the contacts 3 in the housing 2. The construction of one set of
the contacts 3 will now be described.
With reference to FIGS. 7-10, each of the contacts 3 is of one piece
construction, stamped and formed from a thin sheet of metal having a plane
of thickness. Each contact 3 comprises, an elongated mating portion 4, a
curved or angled central portion 5 and an elongated terminal 7. The
terminal 7 has an offset 8 created by a bend in the contact 3 rearward of
the central portion 5. The offsets 8 on the contacts 3 are in coplanar
alignment. The terminal 7 extends perpendicular to the axis of the mating
portion 4. The central portion 5 is curved to join the mating portion 4
with the terminal 7. The contacts 3 are initially joined to a carrier
strip 9 that is subsequently cut away and removed. Tips 10 of the
terminals 7 are joined by a second carrier strip 11 that is subsequently
cut away and removed.
Each contact 3 has a raised contact surface 12 formed by an axially
extending arch 13 in the mating portion 4. A front of each arch 13 is
sloped to a tapered tip 14 on the mating portion 4. Rearward of the arch
13 on each contact 3, are spaced apart, front projection 15 and a rear
projection 16. The projections 15, 16 are defined by punching slits 17
through the thickness of the contact 3. The slits 17 partially
circumscribe the peripheries of the respective projections 15, 16 and
define rear facing edges 18, 19 on the projections 15, 16.
The front projection 15 is bent out of the plane of thickness of the
corresponding contact 3. The front projection 15 is curved to impart
stiffness. The front projection 15 has a rear facing edge 18 that projects
outwardly. The rear projection 16 is bent out of the plane of thickness,
and rear facing edge 19 projects outwardly therefrom.
With reference to FIGS. 1-6, the housing 2 is of unitary plastic
construction fabricated by molding a plastic material. A contact receiving
cavity 20 is in an interior of the housing 2. A rear 21 of the housing 3
is open. A thin insulating divider 22, FIGS. 2 and 3, on the housing 2
extends within the cavity 20 and projects forwardly outward of the housing
2 to a front mating end 23. Raised slender walls 24 project outwardly from
the surfaces on opposite sides of the slender divider 22. The walls 24
define sides of contact receiving channels 25 that extend along the
surfaces on the opposite sides of the divider 22. Each channel 25 extends
toward the mating end 23. Each channel 25 extends into a pocket 26 on the
mating end 23 at a front of the channel 25. Each channel 25 extends
through a front wall 27 on the housing 2, and communicates with the cavity
20 in the housing 2. Respective channels 25 communicate with larger
contact receiving openings 28 in the front wall 27 of the housing 2.
Two narrow openings 30 through a bottom wall 31, FIG. 3, of the housing 2,
communicate with the interior cavity 20 of the housing 2. The openings 30
extend parallel to the divider 22 and are spaced by an offset 32 from the
divider 22. The openings 30 communicate with the open rear 21 of the
housing 2, FIG. 3.
A set of contacts 3, as described with reference to FIG. 8, is separated
from the carrier strip 9, and remain connected together by the second
carrier strip 11. The set of contacts 3 is assembled along one of the
sides of the divider 22. Similarly, a second set of contacts 3 is
assembled along the opposed side of the divider 22. Assembly of one set of
contacts 3 will now be described. With reference to FIG. 2, each set of
contacts 3 is assembled in the open rear 21 of the housing 2, and is moved
forwardly in the interior of the housing 2 toward the front mating end 23.
The rear projections 16 provide tool rests that jut out from the thickness
of the contacts 3, and against which a pushing tool, not shown, engages to
urge the contacts 3 forwardly. The contacts 3 are laterally supported
against the divider 22.
The front projections 15 enter respective contact receiving openings 28 in
the front wall 27 on the housing 2. The projections 15 wedge in the
openings 28 to retain respective contacts 3 in place, and to urge the
contacts 3 against the divider 22. The rear facing edges 18 on the
projections 15 lance into the housing 2 to restrain the contacts 3 from
rearward movement. Tips 14 on the contacts 3 lodge within respective
pockets 26, FIG. 2. The pockets 26 restrain further forward movement of
the contacts 3. The pockets 26 prevent lifting of the contact tips 14 from
the confines of the channels 25.
The terminals 7 are received along the narrow openings 30 and project
through the bottom wall 31 of the housing 2. The offsets 8 on the contacts
3 register against an interior surface of the bottom wall 31, and prevent
the contacts 3 from falling through the bottom wall 31. The mating
portions 4 on the contacts 3 extend along the channels 25 between the
walls 24, and emerge from the front wall 27 on the housing 2. The carrier
strip 11 can then be removed.
A feature of the invention will now be described with reference to FIG. 2.
To facilitate formation of the channels 25 during a molding operation,
slender core pins 33, FIG. 3, register in the front mating end 23 during
the molding operation. Each core pin 33 is positioned so as to be between
two channels 25 that are formed in opposite sides of the divider 22. The
presence of the core pins 33 assures that the channels 25 are formed with
precision during the molding operation, and allow the divider 22 to be
formed very thin. A thin divider 22 allows formation of a housing 2 in a
desirable compact size. When the core pins 33 are removed, core pin
openings 34 of small circumferences appear in the mating end 23, FIG. 5.
The core pin openings 34 extend until they communicate with the channels
25. The core pins 33 are smaller in circumference than the widths of the
channels 25, to prevent falling of tips 14 of the contacts 3 into the core
pin openings 34 formed by the core pins 33.
Although a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed, other
embodiments and modifications of the invention are intended to be covered
by the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims.
Top